R. D. Francis Wilfred Dorff, O. Praem.

Rev. Francis Dorff, O.Praem. entered the Norbertine Order on August 28, 1952 and professed Solemn Vows on August 28, 1957. He was ordained a priest on September 1, 1960.

In 1957, Father Dorff graduated from St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI with a B.A. in Philosophy and Classics. He received an S.T.L. from the Gregorian University in Rome (1961), and an S.T.D. from the Institut Catholique in Paris (1965), and did post-doctoral fellowships at Union Theological (1967), Berkeley (1974), and the University of Chicago (1978).

He taught philosophy and theology at St. Norbert College (WI), Rosemont College (PA), and Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He was the Founder-Director of the Institute of Religion and Culture and the Emmaus House of Prayer as well as Vocation and Formation Director at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, PA. For many years he offered workshops and retreats in the Intensive Journal Method developed by Dr. Ira Progoff. He is the author of eight books and many articles.

Fr. Dorff moved to New Mexico in 1988 and served as a spiritual director and teacher in the Renewal Program for Priests sponsored by the Paraclete Fathers in Jemez Springs, NM. He became a member of Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey in the late 1990s where he lived a deeply contemplative life in a hermitage, and continued to write, do spiritual direction, and guide meditative writing retreats at the Norbertine Spirituality Center.